Ukraine To Restart Chernobyl Reactor

.c The Associated Press

By MARINA SYSOYEVA

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Thirteen years after the world's worst nuclear accident, the Chernobyl power plant is reemerging as a focus of environmental fears and a subject of negotiations over aid to cash-strapped Ukraine.

The reopening of the plant's only functioning reactor, scheduled for Friday following five months of repairs, comes after the U.S. State Department recently said Ukraine ``appears to be unprepared'' to confront the Y2K bug. The department warned of ``a risk of potential disruption in all key sectors, especially the energy and electric services.''

``We're completely opposed to restarting Chernobyl,'' said Ben Pearson, an anti-nuclear campaigner in the Amsterdam office of the environmental group Greenpeace. ``Chernobyl is probably the most dangerous reactor in the world.''

Ukrainian authorities insist the troubled plant, site of the 1986 accident, is safe.

Under a 1995 agreement between Ukraine and the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, Chernobyl was supposed to be closed once and for all before the year 2000.

But the former Soviet republic says it has not received the money it was promised to complete two new nuclear reactors, and therefore will keep Chernobyl running until an unspecified date next year.

Ukraine argues that it needs the electricity, and can't afford to risk running short during the harsh winter months.

But Pearson said that Ukrainian energy supplies exceed demand, and critics contend that Ukraine has for years been using Chernobyl as leverage to get money from the West.

``In six months' time, Ukraine may decide for political reasons that it wants to keep Chernobyl open,'' Pearson said.

Ever since the Chernobyl disaster 13 years ago, the Soviet Union and then Ukraine have come under pressure to close the plant.

The devastating explosion and fire at reactor No. 4 spewed radiation over much of Europe. The Ukrainian government has blamed at least 8,000 deaths on the accident, including those killed immediately, workers who died in the massive cleanup operation, and people who subsequently died of cancer and other radiation-related illnesses.

Three of Chernobyl's four reactors are now permanently shut down. The last functioning reactor, No. 3, was turned off July 1 for five months of planned repairs.

The reactor was to be brought back on-line earlier this month, but additional maintenance forced a delay. Oleh Holoskokov, a spokesman for the plant, said tests were underway, and the plant should be back in operation ``in the early hours of Friday.''

``Every reactor that is prepared for a restart undergoes obligatory Y2K testings,'' Holoskokov added.

The millennium-bug issue has to do with the tendency of older computers to read only the last two digits in a year. If not converted, they could mistake the year 2000, or ``00,'' for 1900, possibly leading to malfunctions and failures.

U.S. Ambassador Steven Pifer has discussed the issue with Ukrainian leaders, who promised to allow American officials to examine all vital energy facilities, including nuclear plants.

Meanwhile, about 500 workers have begun repairs on the concrete-and-steel sarcophagus that conceals the ruins of Chernobyl's exploded reactor No. 4, Holoskokov said Thursday.

The shelter was hastily built after the 1986 accident to prevent additional radiation leaks, but is riddled with cracks and needs reinforcing. The workers will strengthen the sarcophagus' concrete beams, working through December from both inside and outside the huge structure.

Ukraine continues to operate 14 reactors at five power plants, which supply about 40 percent of the country's energy. While some Ukrainians want to see Chernobyl and other Soviet-designed nuclear plants shut, Ukrainian authorities face much greater pressure from governments and environmental groups in the West.

Ukraine says it still needs - and was promised - $1.2 billion from the West to finish construction of two new reactors at the Khmelnitsky and Rivne nuclear plants in exchange for the lost Chernobyl output.

``We would not be able to survive economically without launching the (new) reactors,'' President Leonid Kuchma said recently.

``The world could help in solving this problem,'' Kuchma said. ``But the world only wants us to close down Chernobyl and not to complete the reactors.''

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has played a leading role in the discussions on financing, was supposed to make a loan decision in September. But it has taken no action, and other potential lenders are expected to wait for the EBRD before they commit any money.

Western nations are largely financing the sarcophagus repairs.

AP-NY-11-25-99 1419EST

-- Duke1983 (Duke1983@aol.com), November 25, 1999